Black Friday 2008

Black Friday 2008 is now one for the history books. After my walk on the Roanoke River Greenway I stopped off at Tanglewood Mall. I found some nice gifts at Barnes & Noble and I would have liked to have more time to spend there but I wanted to stop into the mall also and I had guests at home. The mall was busy, but not jammed. I found what I went for in Bath and Body and Jaclyn's Hallmark. As I walked by the Santa station I saw a family with children that were all dressed up and ready to have their picture taken, but Santa was nowhere to be seen. Poor timing.

The stores appeared to be busy but I didn't experience much of a wait time at checkout. Something new I noticed was the security alarms posted by the J.C. Penney exits. As low as the prices are, it seems hardly worth the risk that someone would take to steal something. Stealing is better left to the pros in industry and government who not only do it, but get away with it.

It remains to be seen which day will be more profitable; Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

Happy shopping!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's been so cold this past week that Tanglewood presented the best option for getting my walking time in. There are some new stores open for your shopping pleasure. Montie's Collectibles has all sorts of auto racing shirts, hats, and such. Planet Wear reminds me of the former Dragonfly and offers tie-dyed items and funky clothes.

Last weekend's promotion event for our new Salem Sox appeared to be a big success. I even had someone snap my picture while I stood next to the World Series trophy. I must admit, it was very exciting and my timing was great because soon afterward the line behind me grew very long. Going to the ballpark to watch a game on a warm summer night is one of my favorite things to do. So I bought my husband a book of box seat tickets as an anniversary gift (27 years of wedded bliss) in hopes that he will take the hint when baseball season opens in the spring.

Deck the Malls....

If you've walked into the mall and wondered if you slept through Thanksgiving, you haven't. However, the Christmas Season seems to be in full swing. Decorative flags are hanging throughout the mall along with stars and lights. Santa's chair is ready and waiting for him to receive his adoring fans. Carols are playing and the stores have all of their Christmas decorations and displays up. And the sure sign that Christmas is right around the corner....the Hickory Farms kiosk is fully stocked and open for business. Nothing says Merry Christmas like a beef stick. Ho, ho, ho!

Encouraging site

A busy day today for sure but I managed to squeeze in a short walk around Tanglewood. It was a lot busier than a usual Tuesday; likely due to kids off from school during the election. In spite of a grim economic outlook, there's a sparkle of of light in 3 new store openings; Hip Hop Fashions, Tomorrow's Treasures, and Aren't You Special. Also, Crystal Cottage has reoccupied their previous space near J.C. Penney. I have not ventured into any of the new stores, but "Aren't You Special" looks to be the most inviting. The displays look organized and thoughtfully designed vs. "Tomorrow's Treasures" where it looks like the objective was to cover every inch of wall space with whatever you could get your hands on. What a mess! I can barely stand to look in the window. Forget about actually walking into the place. It seems like just another flea market stall moved indoors. Doesn't the mall management have any influence over the tenants? They should take some lessons from well-run condominium home owners' associations that have standards for maintaining the appearance and image of their neighborhoods.

Fall Spectacle

It's been a busy couple of weeks and my travels have allowed me to experience the Fall season in multiple states - driving to Huntington, WV, flying to Chicago, driving to Charlotte. And one of the prettiest places to view changing leaves is along Mt. Chestnut Rd. in Cave Spring.

While in Charlotte I visited the South Park Mall. There aren't too many shopping malls around with Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus, Tiffany's, and all of my other favorite stores under one roof. Wonderful! Of course, I couldn't afford to actually buy anything at this mall, but window shopping was lots of fun. These stores may be suffering from our current economic circumstances, but you couldn't tell it from the shoppers who were carrying their bags of purchases.

Since I returned to Roanoke I have managed a couple of walks on the Roanoke River Greenway and I brought my camera along today to snap a few photos. I am enjoying every minute that I can spend outdoors before the nasty winter cold sets in. I expect that the Great Blue Heron that I saw in the river was doing the same.